NSPCC response to Youth Task Force Action Plan

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Tuesday, 18, Mar 2008 12:00

In response to the government’s Youth Task Force Action Plan, the NSPCC urges the government to ensure that all children who are identified as being in need have access to help and support as early as possible, today Tuesday March 18.

The NSPCC is concerned that many of the initiatives in the plan are only restricted to certain pilot areas and that only a selection of young people will benefit.

NSPCC head of policy and public affairs Diana Sutton said, “Now is the right time to go further and deeper into understanding the causes of young people’s behaviour. They need help to tackle the problems they face that so often are part of the cause of poor behaviour.

“Often many of the young people NSPCC sees have been victims themselves of abuse. I am pleased to see that the approach set out in the Action Plan will work with families earlier so that issues such as poor parenting will be addressed. Effective therapeutic interventions also have the potential to make a really big difference.

“However, this plan will make a big difference to a select few. The NSPCC would like to see the issue of high local authority thresholds for providing help and support to children and their families addressed. Lowering these thresholds would help more children and families across the country benefit from early interventions and avoid crisis point.

“The NSPCC also welcomes the training of 3,000 frontline practitioners to tackle the issue but we would like to know more about what this training will look like and what it will cover to ensure they are able to offer effective help and advice."

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